Thursday, August 18, 2011

Storm kills 2, injures 40 at Belgian festival

The mayor of a Belgian town says two people have died and around 40 have been injured when a storm hit an open air music festival nearby.

Video from the site showed stage equipment dangling in high winds as rain-soaked concertgoers at the Pukkelpop festival ran for cover near the town of Hasselt, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Brussels.

Le Soir newspaper quoted a witness saying that the sky got dark, winds picked up violently as hailstones pelted those gathered there Thursday.

The festival's website lists a number of stages where concerts and performances were to be held during the three-day event, which started Thursday. Reports say some 60,000 people are attending the event.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A storm hit an open air music festival on Thursday, and Belgian media say that at least one person was killed and several others were injured.

Video from the site showed stage equipment dangling in high winds as rain-soaked concertgoers at the Pukkelpop festival ran for cover near the town of Hasselt, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Brussels.

Le Soir newspaper quoted a witness saying that the sky got dark, winds picked up violently as hailstones pelted those gathered there. It said that one person had died and several others were injured. Initial report in another newspaper, The DH daily, said four people had died.

It was not immediately possible to reconcile these claims and the authorities could not be reached for comment.